Lymphatic drug delivery system and drugs for metastatic melanoma

Technology Description

Oregon State University is seeking a licensee for a patented drug delivery system for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. The system is composed of biodegradable, biocompatible, and stable nanoparticles built from amphiphilic block copolymers and contains a mix of drugs commonly used to treat cancer, all while being nontoxic to healthy cells. In one example, a synergistic three-drug combination loaded into nanoparticles was used for in vivo studies of two metastatic mouse models covering mutations in NRAS or RXRα showed highly effective treatment for melanoma. The nanoparticles have a zeta potential between -1mV to -39mV and size from 10nm to 80nm which allow them to be taken up by a lymph node proximal to the injection site, and then disseminated by the lymphatic system to distally effect lymph nodes far from the point of injection. The high effectivity is attributed by the composition of the nanoparticle which enables: increased drug circulation time, solubilization of poorly water soluble drugs, and the capability to deliver multiple drugs at once.

Features & Benefits

• Proximal and distal therapeutic effects for systemic treatment of metastatic melanoma
• Uptake by the lymphatic system for delivery to lymph nodes at distal sites
• Compatible with a multi-drug therapeutic approach

Applications

• Metastatic melanoma
• Potential applications in inflammatory breast carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, and head and neck cancer

Background of Invention

Metastatic melanoma has the highest mortality rate of skin cancers due to developed resistance to chemotherapy and difficulty reaching therapeutic concentrations in the lymphatic system despite the use of radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy. A strategy for lymphatic dissemination for disease treatment is highly desired, because metastatic melanoma spreads through the lymphatic system, which causes the high mortality rates associated with the disease. Melanoma is often caused by mutations in NRAS or RXRα, leading to up regulation of downstream effector proteins and signaling pathways in the malignant melanoma phenotype. RXRα is integral in gene expression and signal transduction, and its activity is lost when the disease progresses in humans. However, most current therapies target the BRAF mutation, and therefore no approaches exist for NRAS or RXRα mutations.

Status

Patent issued, available for licensing. US 10,016,422 B2